Way back in 1986, when I was nine years old, my parents did the unthinkable: they helped me open my own local trading card shop.
We decided to call it Chad & Dad’s because we found the name to be engaging and the rhyme had such a nice ring to it.
But make no mistake about it, I would have never had the opportunity to enjoy this great life experience if it were not for Mom.
While Dad supplied me with the money to get started, he was working a full-time job.
That being said, it was definitely a team effort, as Mom was left with the daily tasks of picking me up from school, taking me to the shop, and staying with me until closing.
If memory serves me right, we were open Tuesday through Friday from 4:30 p.m. till 9 p.m., Saturday from 11 a.m. till 6 p.m., and we were closed on Sunday and Monday.
The initial location of the shop was at the very end of a tiny strip mall tucked away off one of the main streets in my small hometown. At the time, I think the population was approximately 20,000 people.
In any case, as an adult, I look back and realize how lucky I was and how many life lessons have stuck with me from that little shop.
I have so many great memories and stories from the few years I was blessed to run my own trading card shop, yet I’m certain I’ve forgotten some of the funniest moments, as well.
However, there are some memories from Chad and Dad’s that are sure to stick with me forever, and the story I’m about to tell is definitely one of them.
How I Found Out About Baseball’s Most Notorious Error Card
I will never forget the day I learned about (what would go on to become) the most recognizable error in baseball card history.
It was December of 1988. By this point, we had been open for about two years and had built the little shop up quite nicely.
We had formed a very good relationship with a local candy distributor and had just picked up several factory-sealed cases of 1989 Fleer Baseball wax boxes. If I had to guess, I would say we probably had about 20 fresh cases (which is equal to roughly 400 wax boxes).
As I recall, it was a rainy day, and just before closing time, a guy in his late teens or early 20s that I didn’t recognize came into the shop.
“Hey, do you guys have the new Fleer Baseball cards?” he asked.
Before I could answer, he blurted out, “Some disc jockey just said on the radio that there is a bad curse word on the new Fleer card of Cal Ripken Jr.”
Keep in mind that this was around the time when car phones had just been introduced and were found only in the cars of the richest and most famous individuals. The Internet didn’t even exist, much less social media, and getting news from a radio station, magazine, or newspaper was the norm.
Not yet realizing that error cards would soon become all the rage during the baseball card boom of the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, I started opening wax packs from a brand-new box of 1989 Fleer Baseball cards.
Near the end of a 36-pack box, I finally pulled out the Cal Ripken Jr. card.
The three of us (the customer, my mom, and myself) closely studied the card’s front and back, but couldn’t find anything wrong with it. There was no curse word!
Just before giving up, my mom said, “Is there another player named Ripken? I thought I saw you pass by another player with the same last name?”
At this point, it dawned on me that Cal’s little brother, Bill, had rookie cards that debuted just a year earlier, in 1988. So, I rushed back through all of the commons stacked up on the display case countertop and sure enough, when I found Bill Ripken, there it was.
As you can see from the photo below, boldly displayed on the knob of his bat, it says, “F*ck Face.”
My mom, not wanting me, at the age of 11, to have what she deemed a “filthy thing” in my possession, made me give the card to the young man who informed us about it.
At any rate, it wasn’t long before the news of that card spread like wildfire within the baseball card community.
Fleer went on to make a plethora of corrected versions of the now infamous #616 ‘89 Fleer Bill Ripken “FF” card.
Some corrected versions are incredibly rare, only adding to the overall allure of the most notorious error in baseball card history.
Fortunately for us, that day became a huge stepping-stone for the growth of Chad & Dad’s, as we were able to acquire a massive amount of unopened vintage wax in exchange for those wax cases of 1989 Fleer Baseball cards.
We even moved to a new location in a brand-new building in the middle of town with three or four times as much square footage.
Bottom line, we got lucky. We had the right product, in the right place, at the right time, and it’s a memory I’ll never forget.
Do you want to collect or invest in vintage baseball cards, like the infamous Bill Ripken “FF” card? You can start by searching through my online store. And if you want to learn more, and connect with fellow card collectors, you should check out Jackpot Sports Cards on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
